Visual and Performing Arts Subjects and Their Status in Maltese Primary Schools

Different subjects enjoy different status within the Maltese primary schools. The aim of this thesis is to explore the extent of subject status between the core academic tested subjects (CATS), such as mathematics, English, Maltese and science, and the visual and performing arts subjects (VPAS), such as art, drama and music in Maltese primary schools. I started by analysing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF; MEE, 2012), and the National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) (MEE, 1999) using Hyatt’s (2005, 2013) Critical Higher Education Policy Discourse Analysis (CHEPDA). Research was conducted in 4 different primary schools: two co-educational government schools, one boys-only Church school and one girls-only Church school. There were three categories of participants: parents (n=100), students (n=204) and educators (n=67). Focus groups and questionnaires were used to understand the perceptions of participants using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. Key findings showed that CATS indeed enjoy a higher status than the VPAS in Maltese primary schools. I used Foucault’s dispositif (1980) to explain my theory as to why this was occurring and how a governance of power was the result of why different subjects are assigned different status. This thesis is an academic contribution in a number of ways. It introduces a CHEPDA analysis of the Maltese NMC and NCF. It also shows that a broad and balanced curriculum in primary education should be the way forward for education. I introduced my original concept of how students are regarded by the state as ‘capital-abilities-machines’. My recommendations range from having a specialised teacher resident in each school to teach the arts subjects, to revising the curriculum to increase the teaching time for the VPASs so that all students may experience a broad and balanced curriculum.